Whether your interests range from rock to classical, there are aspects of the guitar that you will find captivating. If you wish to learn the guitar but don’t quite know how to begin, here are 8 tips that will have you strumming avidly in no time.
1. Pick a good guitar. As tempting as it may be to start on that old axe you’ve kept gathering dust in your attic for years, there are a number of factors that may make beginning so much more difficult, from strings that are too far off the fretboard to a warped neck. You don’t necessarily have to buy new or spend lots of money, but if you have a quality guitar, beginning will be much easier.
2. Learn some basic chords. Chords are the words in your musical vocabulary, and with just over half a dozen under your belt, a number of songs from just about any genre become available to you. As a beginner, nothing will encourage you to continue improving faster than would quick results.
3. Buy a metronome. Metronomes can be found cheaply, and are perhaps the most invaluable tool at a player’s disposal. Contrary to popular belief, practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect, and if you play chords and scales well to a constant beat before slowly increasing the tempo, your practice will be much more effective.
4. Develop a plan. Chords are great for starting out, but there are a variety of directions in which your craft can develop once chording has been mastered. Do you prefer classical music, or enjoy improvising blues or jazz? Each style requires different techniques, and a plan will help you achieve goals in those areas much more quickly.
5. Once your plan is made, identify resources to help you achieve it. Do you learn better in person, or would you rather improve from the comfort of your own home? If the former, look for an instructor in your area who is familiar with your desired style of play. If online lessons are more your speed, there are a number of resources available on the internet for a variety of styles.
6. Network with other musicians. It doesn’t matter if you just picked up your first guitar yesterday. Find a friendly group with whom to jam, share tips, etc. I promise you that any good group won’t look down on you for beginning, and there’s no feeling quite like joining in your first jam session, playing with other musicians to create a complex tapestry of sound.
7. Play daily. Set a regular block of time aside each day to improve your craft. Without daily work and persistence, any improvements you make will slip away.
8. Finally, keep on learning. Don’t simply decide that you are finished, or that you’ve learned all that you wish in your style of choice. Instead, branch out to other styles and learn new techniques. Classical techniques can add interesting nuances to blues or rock, for instance, and the opposite is just as true. This is perhaps the most important of the above 8 tips, as nothing makes a musician’s play more unique than does the blending of styles, and the continued drive to learn and grow is the differentiating factor between a good player who is a joy to hear, and a weekend hobbyist confined to a few songs and a single style.
Please let me know how you progress in your leaning to play guitar.
Don